Healthy Chocolate Chip Muffins

5 from 6 votes

These eggless whole wheat chocolate chip muffins are a delightful blend of wholesome ingredients and rich chocolate flavor. Made with whole wheat pastry flour and sweetened with brown sugar and prune puree, they offer a healthier twist on a classic treat. Perfect for breakfast or a snack, these muffins are both satisfying and delicious.

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Cooling Time10

Total Time50

Method: Baking

Course: Muffins

Servings: 11 Muffins

Ingredients

½ cup Brown Sugar firmly packed, I used dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons Soft Tub Margarine Spread I used Becel Original
¾ cup Buttermilk I used 1%
¾ to 1 cup Chocolate Chips I used milk chocolate chips
¼ cup Prune Puree one 2.5oz small, I used Beech Nut baby food
1 tablespoon Water
1 tablespoon Unsweetened Applesauce
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ teaspoon Salt
¼ cup Wheat Germ toasted

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F for 15 minutes. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and use a nonstick cooking spray to grease the liners. In a baking sheet toast the wheat germ while the oven is preheating. Have a close watch or else it might burn. Around 5 minutes should be enough.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the margarine and sugar until creamy using a handheld electric mixer. Stir in the buttermilk. The mixture appears to be curdled but doesn't worry. Also, add the prune puree. Add the 1 tablespoon water to the baby food jar and shake it well and then pour it to the rest of the ingredients. Stir in the applesauce and vanilla extract too.
Add the rest of the dry ingredients (flour to salt) except the wheat germ to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined; do not over-mix. Lumps in the batter are fine.
Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with wheat germ (around 1 teaspoon for each muffin). I usually fill 3 tablespoons of batter for each muffin. Even though the measurement is for 12 muffins, I was able to fill only 11 cups. So fill the 12th cup with water (¾th of the tin should be enough), to ensure even baking of the muffins.
Bake around 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I baked mine for 23 minutes.
Remove the muffin tin from the oven and cool it on a wire rack for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes take the muffins out of the pan and let it cool on a wire rack.

Notes

As per the original recipe you can use either prunes or dates. Blend ¼ cup chopped prunes or dates with ¼ cup hot water and puree until smooth. I had a jar of pureed prune, so I used it instead. The 2.5oz jar measures exactly ¼ cup.
The muffins are brown in color because of the prune puree but that does not affect the taste at all. I think using dates will leave its taste in the muffins.
The original recipe required one egg white, which can be substituted with 2 tablespoons of any egg substitute. I think the egg white acts as a binder in this recipe. So I used a tablespoon of water (to wash the prune puree jar) and 1 tablespoon applesauce. If you have extra prune/date puree you can use 2 tablespoons of the same.

Taste & Texture

If you think that healthy and tasty don't go together, you have to taste these muffins to change your belief. It is unbelievably tasty for a muffin made with whole wheat pastry flour. No raw smell or bitter aftertaste, the right amount of sugar and amazing texture! I don't think I will like any other chocolate chip muffin more than this one or try any other recipe, because this is PERFECT. I did skimp on the wheat germ topping because I was not sure if I would like it, but what a surprise, it blended well with the muffin and did not affect the taste. My son loved these muffins.
Another interesting thing, these muffins tasted so good on the day I baked them itself. Usually, whole wheat baked goods don't taste good the same day, it gets better the next day. I know that I cannot resist my temptation to taste it immediately, so I baked these after dinner assuming that it can cool overnight and we can have it for breakfast the following day. But I was able to be patient only for 3 hours. I skeptically took a piece of the muffin and was really blown away by the texture and taste and ended up eating the entire muffin. Initially, you will be able to smell the baking powder (very mild) but not after the second day.

Nutrition